


STEP BACK NOW

by Flora (florahart)



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, fluffy like cotton candy, little kids like hulk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-05
Updated: 2012-09-05
Packaged: 2017-11-13 15:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/504921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/florahart/pseuds/Flora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hulk finds a little kid.  Or rather, she finds him.  And doesn't want to let go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	STEP BACK NOW

**Author's Note:**

> written for a kink meme prompt, which I can't link to at the moment because LJ has gone bananas and screened 5000 comments at the meme (wtf), so, fine, here. 
> 
> Prompt was: Hulk comes across a little kid, who thinks he's awesome despite his efforts to scare it away. Cuteness and fluff requested.

Steve peered over the edge of the building and sighed. Naturally, he'd managed to disengage from the flying sniper bot thing over a building with no roof access and a framework made of enough steel he'd be up here a while trying to break through. And his shield, well, he could just make it out, a bright dot on the ground below. He counted floors on the building across the way. Crap.

Tony was far and gone out over the water--maybe _in_ the water, chasing down some kind of--as Steve understood it--rogue robot whale with conflicting (both destructive) priorities which was maybe in charge of the baby bots all over the city. Thor was miles inland working on the other option (electric buffalo? really?). None of the sniper bots was coming close enough to snag. And his earpiece had dropped with the shield in the first place. And super healing was all well and good, but a jump from this height would still probably break him enough to knock him out of the rest of the fight. 

Damn it.

On the other hand, he was mostly out of the fight up here, and hey, maybe he was tougher than he thought; it wasn't like anyone had actually come up with a rational way to test his limitations. In any case, the sniper bots were shooting into populated targets first, and he needed to get back into the game. 

Fine. Up and over, then. He didn't see the point of spending much time thinking about the options when there was work to be done.

His only warning of a change, as he fell way faster than seemed reasonable, was the roar.

And then Hulk was putting him down gently on the ground and patting his head with a series of firm thumps. Just then the sniper bots all fell to the ground. Huh. Apparently Thor, Tony, or both, had been successful. Well.

"FLAG MAN _CRUNCH_ ," was apparently Hulk's opinion of the goings on.

Steve look around and spotted his shield. "Thanks, Hulk," he said. He looked back at Hulk.

Who was staring, puzzled, at the ground before him.

Without Hulk's massive calf blocking the view, Steve could now see a little kid--really little, maybe a little over a year old and wavering like she might fall on her bottom at any moment--gazing adoringly up. "Um, Hulk?"

Hulk looked over his shoulder and grunted (snorted? growled?) "HUH."

The kid giggled and Hulk's attention went back to her. He grumbled more.

"Hulk, maybe you should just step back a little."

Hulk grunted at him again, and the kid cackled and wrapped her little arms around his calf.

Hulk crinkled his nose. "HULK STEP BACK NOW TINY DOLL," he bellowed toward his feet.

The little girl clung and beamed up at him.

Steve finished digging out his shield. "Uh, Hulk, you need a hand?"

Hulk picked up the foot with the kid and shook it--gently, for him, but the kid bounced and flailed and ultimately went flying into the air. Steve leaped to catch her.

Hulk roared, then said, "TINY DOLL HULK STEP BACK NOW!"

Steve held the girl against his chest. "Hey, kid. I think maybe--"

She opened her mouth and wailed, pushing at his chest, at his face (ow! sharp nails!), at his arms.

"Hey! Kid, just, let's find, mmph!"

With an elbow to Steve's nose, the child turned around and reached, arms wide, for Hulk. The screaming stopped. 

"I think she wants you," Steve said.

Hulk snorted and stepped away.

The child sniffled and opened her mouth again.

"Yeah, wants you," Steve said. 

Hulk stopped, then shuffled slowly closer.

The child beamed. "Up!"

Hulk looked at the kid, then at Steve. Then back at the kid. "UP."

"Up!" She launched herself out of Steve's grasp, gripping Hulk's chest and arm with the sharp nails.

Hulk roared.

"Up! Too loud!"

Hulk closed his mouth.

Steve stifled a laugh. "I think you have a fan." Hulk glared. "Well!"

"Step back now!" the child said.

Hulk carefully rearranged her so she was on his forearms, then stepped back.

"No!" The child pantomimed being shaken. "Step _back!_ "

Hulk scowled and shimmied, and the child shrieked with glee.

"TOO LOUD," Hulk said.

The girl put her finger to her lips, then reached for Hulk's. "Shhh. Step back."

Hulk looked to Steve for help. Steve shrugged. Hulk sighed and resumed the quivering dance with the child in his arms.

"Do I want to know?" Clint asked, walking up quietly next to Steve.

Steve opened his mouth to explain, thought about it, snapped his jaw shut again. He shook his head. "Not sure any explanation is possible."

"Fury's gonna want one."

"I know. I'm hoping Bruce gets tapped for that report." Steve stepped toward Hulk--the little girl shrunk away from him and toward the broad green chest--"Hey, big guy, we should find her mom."

"HULK STAY HERE. FLAG MAN FIND." He shook from head to toe. "HULK BABYSIT."

Clint coughed. "Babysit? You know the word _babysit_? Dude, your vocabulary is a lot more evolved than we give you credit for, isn't it?"

"HULK NO COMMENT."

Steve shook his head and got out his phone to snap a picture of the girl, then headed for the nearest building. Someone would probably know. Of course, explaining the monster... well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.


End file.
